Maeleldil

{{ #if:| {{ #if:mä-el-EL-dïl| {{ #if:God of gods
The One True God
The Sun and Stars
Patron of Mankind| {{ #if:Maeli| {{ #if:The Great Beyond| {{ #if:Sun, Humans, Civilization, Law| {{ #if:The vast majority of the continent of Ar-Maron| {{ #if:

Maeleldil
}}
(Deity)
Pronunciation	mä-el-EL-dïl }}
Titles	God of gods The One True God The Sun and Stars Patron of Mankind }}
Adjective	Maeli }}
Home	The Great Beyond }}
Alignment	Lawful Neutral
Portfolio	Sun, Humans, Civilization, Law }}
Worshipers	The vast majority of the continent of Ar-Maron }}

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

| Cleric Alignments

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

}}

{{ #if:Glory, Law, Sun, Community (Orthodox) OR Protection (Reformed)| Domains Glory, Law, Sun, Community (Orthodox) OR Protection (Reformed)

}}

{{ #if:Honor, Judgement, Light, Cooperation (Orthodox) OR Defense (Reformed)| Subdomains Honor, Judgement, Light, Cooperation (Orthodox) OR Defense (Reformed)

}}

{{ #if:Heavy Mace| Favored Weapon Heavy Mace

}}

{{ #if:A crown interlinked with a flat gold ring (Orthodox) OR a circle wreathed in dragon fire (Reformed)| Symbol A crown interlinked with a flat gold ring (Orthodox) OR a circle wreathed in dragon fire (Reformed)

}}

{{ #if:Hawk| Sacred Animal Hawk

}}

{{ #if:White, Crimson, Gold| Sacred Colors White, Crimson, Gold

}}

History

Millennia ago, Maeleldil was merely one god in a vast Pantheon of human deities. Most worship was at least partly animistic, with major celestial bodies and aspects of nature being frequent objects of worship. The sun, for whatever reason, is an abiding object of man's affection, and through the ages, the other gods began to fall to the wayside as the worship of the sun grew more elaborate.

Eventually, the cult of the sun god Maeleldil had grown such that its priesthood spanned national boundaries. The purview of the sun was limited, however, and a single deity with control over all domains was simply not feasible, regardless of advances in worship or the growth of faith. Correcting this did not require the creation of new faiths or the addition of other deities to the Pantheon, however. Instead, Maeleldil's most powerful mortal servants were given pseudo-deific roles as Saints after their deaths, while his most powerful celestial servants were granted the status of Archangels and likewise given the power to grant spells.

The City-state of Hilsea eventually came to be the home of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith, as Pope Argent IV made a proclamation in 774 that the city was the sacred eternal property of the Church exclusively, and would be the seat of ethos for all the world.

A schism in 780, however, saw the Bishopric of Gailifor breaking off from the main body of the church, claiming unique revelation regarding the primacy of the Hero Erden Dragonblood as the Saint of Saints, Hero of Mankind and Champion of Humanity. The Reformed church of Maeleldil changed the holy symbol to represent, rather than primacy of monarchs, the protection of Maeleldil

Worship

The worship of Maeleldil has advanced over several thousand years, growing ever more elaborate and splendid, with the Holy City-state of Hilsea being governed by a sunrise to sunset schedule of rite and ritual. The passage of seasons and movement of the sun across the sky are marked both by ritual and by the changing of liturgical garments. Over time, however, Maeleldil's status as a sun god has been diminished in favor of emphasizing his status as the greatest of all gods.

The Orthodoxy

The priesthood of the Orthodoxy is exclusive, requiring decades of study (usually from early childhood) to attain the charge of the clergy. Given that, though, simony is alarmingly common, especially beyond the view of the watchful patriarchs of Hilsea, and divine power can, quite literally, be for sale.

The casting of clerical spells is to be done in whatever manner provides the most benefit or addresses the most urgent of needs (for the church, not necessarily the community at large). However, the sale of clerical spellcasting has been a common practice for all of the church's history, with the money from such funding substantial efforts on the part of the church (and utterly replacing taxes within the City-State of Hilsea).

The Reformed Church

The Reformed Church in Gailifor is the most prominent schism within the church, representing the idea that Erden Dragonblood was a special and distinct Saint whose primacy is a matter of deep import to humanity. Their clergy is far less exclusive than the Orthodoxy. Technically, any priest can ordain another priest, although, in practice, careless ordination is an excellent way to find oneself excommunicated.

Spellcasting for profit is more common in the reformed church, although so is altruism. What is less common in the withholding of spellcasting as a way to strengthen the power of the church. Within the Reformed church, altruism (leading, in turn, to a sort of dependency), rather than social control, is used as a means to establish primacy and maintain their authority.

Religious Tolerance

The worship of Maeleldil is exclusive and intolerant, although there is no specific valediction in favor of eliminating or harming infidels. Instead, it is only understood that apostasy is not tolerable, and that co-worship of other gods by followers is forbidden. In general, adherents of other faiths are tolerated, though they may be met with efforts to convert. The priests of other gods, however, are frequently targets of Church oppression.

Despite Maeleldil being a Lawful Neutral deity, the only alignment not found among his Saints and Archangels is Chaotic Evil, with even Chaotic Neutral and Lawful Neutral servants known to exist. The theological explanation for this differs depending on whether the one postulating the theory is a church apologist or a magical researcher. To the apologist, Maeleldil represents all of mankind, and his tendency toward law should be seen not as an ironclad rule, but as the need of mankind to be organized and to grow, thus he accepts servants and even worshipers (though not priests) who represent many different human needs. The explanation from less devout sources suggests, though, that Maeleldil simply does not satisfy the needs of mortal worship, and the Saints and Archangels, rather than powerful bureaucratic servants of the deity, are gods in their own right.

Tenants of Faith

The Church holds that while all races were created (either directly or indirectly) by Maeleldil and his servants, humans are favored above other creatures, and are the templates from which other races were created (each being "more so" than humans in one way or another, but less so in every other way). Officially, the church allows members of all intelligent races, including dragons, intelligent beasts, elves and literally anything else that can profess faith in the God of gods above all others. Unofficially, outside of the cults of specific patron saints dedicated to nonhuman races, the Church, Orthodox, Reformed or otherwise, has a well-known history of deep-seated racism, demanding sword-point conversions and conquering nations by hammer and axe as much as through hearts and minds.

Although the sun itself is no longer considered to be Maeleldil (as it once was) but rather to serve as a symbol of his power, the Church's history was built on the worship of the sun, which gave way to methods of telling time and calendars. Routines and schedules are sacred to the church, with clerics performing morning oblations to the sun, and saluting the setting sun each day. Planning is essential to church dogma. To the Church, there is no glory in an ad-hoc solution, even one that outperforms the original plan. Humanity rose to power on planning and continuous incremental improvement. Iconoclasts, hotheads and impulsive heroes can all be found among the ranks of the Saints, but even there the attitude of the church is that these individuals are recognized as Saints because their interests fall outside of Maeleldil's primary purview. That is not to say that outstanding success, especially success that promotes the cause of humanity, society and order, is not celebrated in the Church. Only that the Church strongly favors reproducible results to one-time victories, and views reliance on or celebration of the latter as a moral failing.

While the Church acknowledges the existence and power of other gods and Pantheons, it claims that all such beings answer to Maeleldil - or one day will be made to do so, willingly or not. The Elven and Touri Pantheons in particular are of serious concern to the church, and while the rank and file worshipers are seldom targeted by the church, clerics and oracles of such deities are frequent topics of witch hunts within the lands controlled by the Church. It is noteworthy, however, that the Chruch only pushes this policy when they have unquestioned control of a region. The Church leadership is not foolish, and they would much rather press a regional agenda of religious tolerance if it serves them than hold to a consistent policy of rejection. As such, at the outskirts of Church control, Maeleldil is presented as a faith of tolerance or even as a Sun god as he once was in bygone days.

Footnotes

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